travel

Slowing Down by Edwin Wildeboer

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Hong Kong, May 12th 2016.

I am walking along side the Aberdeen Street which devides Sheung Wan and Central on Hong Kong Island. This one-way road goes down a steep hill. Unfortunately for me, I am walking the opposite direction, which is upwards, with a heavy  backpack which is filled with photography gear. The pavement is not wide and occas has a few steps. I am desperately searching for a nice location to shoot and it is getting dark very quickly. A shot of cars with trail lights in a Hong Kong setting is what I have in mind.

Almost on the top of the hill, I find a location with potential; a spot just after a crossroad. On the road the text SLOW is painted in English and presumably in Chinese too. On the side of the road is a road sign which indicates the steepness of the hill. Taxis drive past me and hit the brakes which results in lighting up the brake lights. I know this is the spot where I need to be.

I quickly set up my tripod and my camera and decide what the composition will be. Now I have to wait for some traffic to pass by. After several attempts, a taxi comes around the corner while I press the shutter. The taxi passes but stops instantly in front of a cafe which is in the frame. Another taxi directly passes by and hits the brakes to slow down. After a few seconds the exposure is done. Quickly I checked the result on the monitor of my camera and I instantly knew that this was the shot I was looking for. The walk up the steep hill was definitely worth it!